At the turn of the year, automotive supplier Polytec (Hörsching / Austria; www.polytec-group.com) sold its Polytec Composites Italia (PCI, Mondovi / Italy) subsidiary to Industrie Metallvakuum Ranger Spa (IMR, Abbiategrasso / Italy). The deal’s financial details were not disclosed. The subsidiary had been part of Polytec’s composite business, which operates five plants in Germany as well as one each in Slovakia, Turkey and the Czech Republic.

The divesture likely is linked to the “weak long-term safeguarding of the site, given technological changes in key products”. The deal also included a provision whereby Polytec undertakes to supply PCI with SMC and tools. The transaction has received the backing of PCI’s largest client, Iveco. Preliminary 2010 figures predict that 2010 sales will reach EUR 32.5m (2009: EUR 17.2m), with Ebit estimates ranging at EUR -1.7m (2009: EUR 0.4m)

IMR manufactures composite and injection moulded parts as well as the relevant tools, with most output geared towards the Italian market. In a statement, Polytec said it believed the Italian company was better suited to merge SMC activities at the site, thereby raising its synergies.

In mid-2010 the erstwhile Metallvakuum spa (www.mc1948.com) had acquired large parts of the plastics processing business of plastics processing company Ranger SpA (Albiate Brianza / Italy). The company was later renamed Industrie Metallvakuum Ranger spa.